Osaka Prefecture and three prefectures in the Tokyo metropolitan area entered a COVID-19 state of emergency on Monday due to a recent spike in coronavirus cases, joining the capital and Okinawa, amid fears of a medical system collapse during the Tokyo Olympics.
The government of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has added Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and Osaka prefectures to areas under the emergency from Monday through Aug. 31. The emergency period in Tokyo and Okinawa was also extended to the end of the month from the initially planned Aug. 22.
The government is planning to show standards for easing restrictions with respect to the progress of inoculation of the population but the end of the epidemic is not in sight yet in the country.